System of laying out stair-rails.



c. 0. GRANT. SYSTEM or LAYING OUT STAIR RAILS.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.1. 1909. I 995,863 Patented June 20, 1911.

2 BHEETSS'HBET 1.

ATTORNE Y8 O. 0. GRANT. SYSTEM OF LAYING OUT STAIE RAILS.

APPLIQATION FILED DBO. 1, 1909.-

Patented June 20, 1911.

-2 BHEET SSHEET 2.

l II I Kill! I iw whu W0 w a WITNESSES r: NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON,u. c,

CHARLES CYRUS GRANT, OF RED DEER, ALBERTA, CANADA.

SYSTEM OF LAYING OUT STAKE-RAILS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES CYnUs GRANT, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and a resident of Red Deer, in the Province of Alberta andDominion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved System of LayingOut Stair-Rails, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to systems for laying out stair rails and thelike, for use by carpenters, builders and others, and relates moreparticularly to a system of the class described including incombination, means for holding the work, and a marker adapted to engagethe work, and movable in a plural ity of directions to permit the layingout upon the work of the outlines of the stair rail.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient systemof laying out rails of stairs and like structures, which can be easilyand expeditiously manipulated, which requires no special training orskill on the part of the operator, by means of which stair rails can belaid out accurately and in accordance with geometrical principles, andin which the apparatus employed can be easily moved from place to placeand can be set up and taken down without loss of time and labor.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in theclaims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a part of my invention showing the marker and the means forguiding the same; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 22 of Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is asimilar view on the line 1-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of adetail of modified form for use in connection with the marker; Fig. 6 isa side elevation of an embodiment of the device for holding the work;Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a section of rail laid out by means ofmy system; Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a newel, the workassociated therewith, and a part of the apparatus, including the marker;Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing in diagrammatic outline, parts ofSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 1, 1909.

Patented June 20, 1911. Serial No. 530,807.

the apparatus, the work and the geometric form given the rail; Fig. 10is a side elevation of an attachment for a special purpose; and Fig. 11is a planview of the attachment shown in Fig. 10.

Before proceeding to a more detailed explanation of my invention, itshould be clearly understood that while the system is particularlyuseful for laying out the rails of curved stairs, it can also beadvantageously employed for other like purposes in which it is necessaryto lay out rails or similar structures in accordance with geometricalprinciples, for example, in which it is necessary to provide railsof'helical form. Needless to say, the laying out of rails of circularstairs and similar structures is often a matter of considerabledifliculty, especially if the operator is not well versed in theunderlying geometrical principles and in the methods of their use. Forexample, the marking of lines upon the work so that a rail section ofcorrect helical form can be cut therefrom is difficult ofaccomplishment, and my system provides means for executing this and likeoperations with ease.

lVhile I have shown for example in the accompanying drawings, the systemused for fashioning rails of helical form for use in connection withcircular Stairways, it can also be used for designing the rails ofstairs which are only partly circular and which have for example,substantially straight sections.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I provide a guide upright10, consisting of a suitably elongated member mounted upon a base orsupport 11, which may be of any convenient form and is preferablyprovided with three supporting legs 12, which permit the upright to becentered with respect to a mark previously made upon the floor, andindicating the vertical axis or center line of the stairway. At theupper end, the upright has a bracket 13, adapted to be secured to ajoist or any other suitable support, to assist in holding the uprlght inposition within the stair well.

A sleeve 15, is slidably mounted upon the guide upright and is arrangedto swing upon the same, having an extenslon 16, to which is secured theend of a line 17, consisting of a cord or any other suitable flexiblemember. The upright carries a second sleeve 18, adapted to be clamped inpos1t1on by means of a suitable set screw 19, and having a bifurcatedbracket 20, clamped thereon by means of a split ring 21, provided withears 22, adapted to be drawn together by means of a set screw 23. Agrooved guide wheel or pulley 24, is pivotally mounted by means of apivot pin 25, between the sides of the bracket, and has the line 17passing thereover. At the free end, the line has secured to the same acounterpoise 26, consisting of a weight of any form adapted for thepurpose.

The sleeve 15 has a transverse guide clip 27, in which is slidablyarranged a marker arm 28, provided with suitable graduations 29, andadapted to be secured with respect to the guide clip, by means of setscrews 30. At one end the marker arm carries a socket member 31,recessed to receive the end of the arm and secured upon the same bymeans of a set screw 32. The socket member has an extension 33 providedwith a transverse, that is, a substantially vertical, bore 34, in whichis positioned a marker 35, adapted to be held in place by means of a setscrew 36. The marker may be of any suitable form, and consists forexample, of a pencil or a pen. I also provide for use in connection withthe arm, as will appear more clearly hereinafter, an attachmentcomprising a yoke member 37, having at one end an extension 38, providedwith a hole 39, adapted to receive the marker arm, and having a setscrew 40 by means of which it can be clamped in position upon the markerarm.

The yoke bracket has, at the other arm, a

fixed marker 41, and in a suitable opening of the extension 38 anadjustable pointer 42, adapted to be held in place by a set screw 43.The distance between these parts it will be understood, can be adjusted,and this device can be used for marking at opposite sides of a blank orwork of .suitable thickness. j

I can use in connection with my system, any suitable device for holdingthe work, provided its adjustability is such that the work can bearranged at any desired angle with the horizontal. I have shown forexample, in Fig. 6, a form of the work-holding means which can be used.This form consists of a post 44, supported upon a tripod or other base45, and carrying an extension 46, mounted thereon by means of a suitablyadjustable joint 47, which permits the parts 44 and 46 to be arranged ata plurality of angles with respect to one another. The post extensionhas mounted thereupon an adjustable sleeve 48, adapted to be held in aplurality of positions by set screws 49, and having adjustably securedthereto a jaw 50, by means of a suitable joint 51. The aw 50 hasadjustably mounted on a stud 50, the movable jaw 52. The jaws have theadjacent faces suitably formed to grip the work and are connected by athreaded pin 53, and are controlled by a spring 53 and an adjustingcollar 54, operable by means of a handle 55. The parts 44 and 46 arerelatively adjustable, as the sleeve 48 can be moved up and down uponthe part 46 and can be swung around the same, and as the fixed jaw canbe held in a plurality of angular positions with respect to the sleeve,the work can be held at any angle required by the operation of layingout the stair rail.

In Fig. 8 is shown a newel A, which has associated therewith a blank B,which represents the work and which is arranged at the proper anglerequired by the inclination of the stair rail C, which is indicated indotted outline. Of course, the work will be held atthis angle by thedevice shown in Fig. 6, while the marker is being used to describe theoutlines of the stair rail upon the work. It will be understood that byswinging the marker arm about the guide upright, and by moving it up anddown at the same time, with respect to the guide upright, a properelliptical curve can be drawn upon the work, for use in connection withcircular stairways. If the stairway has a straight section, the rail forthis section of the stair can be drawn upon the work by extending linestangent to the helical lines, as is shown, for example, at C in Fig. 9,this being tangent to and an extension of the helical line C. Theangularity of the stair rail must of course be previously determined inany suitable manner, either graphically or otherwise.

In Fig. 9, at D, is included diagrammatically, a section of a suitablycurved stair rail coinciding partly with the horizontal curves describedby the marker. After a pair of curves has been described upon" the uppersurface of the work, the marker is reversed and the corresponding curvesare described on the under side, and this section of the rail can thenbe cut out of the work by means of a saw or in any other suitablemanner. The double marker shown in Fig. 5 can then be employed to markatboth sides of the piece resulting from the previous operation, a lineindicating the thickness to'which it is further to be cut away. Thegraduations on the marker arm are used for setting the marker, after itsradius has been determined. The provision of the counterweight 26facilitates the movement of the marker longitudinally of the guideupright.

In Figs. 10 and 11 I have shown an attachment comprising a frame 60 ofany suitable form, mounted upon the marker arm 28 by means of a bracket61 having a groove 62 adapted to receive the marker, and further havingan opening 63. The frame has an offset extension 64 adapted to bereceived a set-screw 65. This device is intended to assist in cuttingthe end surfaces of the rail sections so that the sections fit exactlytogether. By suitably positioning the frame and placing therein theextremities of the rail sections, as is indicated in dotted outline, astraight edge 66 can be used in marking the ends of the sections so thatthese can be cut to fit exactly.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. In a system of the class described, in combination, a guide upright,means for holding said upright in position, a sleeve mounted upon saidupright and slidable longitudinally thereof and rotatable with respectthereto, a marker adjustably carried by said sleeve, a pulley adjustably carried by said upright and adapted to be secured thereto at aplurality of points, a line secured to said sleeve and passing over saidpulley, and a counterweight secured to said line.

2. In a system of the class described, in combination, a guide upright,means for holding said upright in position, a sleeve slidable upon saidupright and rotatable upon the same, said sleeve having a clip, agraduated marker arm adjustably mounted in said clip, a markeradjustably carried by said marker arm, a second sleeve adapted to besecured upon said upright at a plurality of points of the same, saidsleeve having a bracket, a pulley j ournaled in said bracket, a linesecured to said first sleeve and passing over said pulley, and acounterweight secured to said line, said upright having at the lower enda supporting base permitting said upright to be positioned exactly overa predetermined point.

3. In a system of the class described, a guide upright, a memberslidably and Totatably mounted upon said upright, and having a clip, amarker arm slidably arranged in said clip and having at the end asocket, said socket being provided with an extension, and a markeradjustably carried by said extension.

4. In a system of the class described, in combination, a guide upright,means for holding said upright in position, a sleeve slidable upon saidupright. and rotatable upon the same, a marker arm adjustably mounted onsaid sleeve, a marker adjustably carried by said marker arm, a secondsleeve adapted to be secured upon said upright at any one of a pluralityof points of the same, a pulley journaled on said second sleeve, a linesecured to said first sleeve and passing over said pulley, and acounterweight secured to said line, said upright having at the lower enda supporting base, permitting said upright to be positioned exactly overa predetermined point.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES CYRUS GRANT.

Witnesses JNo. CRAWFORD, MARY SPENLIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

